A bow pulpit/windlass is one of my winter projects...

Same piece of wood, cut, shaped, sanded, and 2 coats of epiphanes so far...only another 13 coats or so to go...

IMG_7061.jpg


IMG_7063.jpg


Stay tuned...

R.
 
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12 coats and counting.....

BP1.jpg


BP2.jpg


It just keeps looking better with every coat...

Now if it would just warm up so I can put the damn thing on the boat!!!!
 
Looks beautiful. Not trying to be a wisea$$, but how are you planning to protect the pulpit from anchor chain scuffing? The newer Sea Rays (without pulpits) have a strip of starboard that runs from the windlass to the anchor chute. I can tell you from looking at mine that the scuff board does take a beating.

Before you are finished you might consider laying out and drilling as many of the hardware mounting holes that you can. That will allow you to get some poly inside the hole and seal up the wood. You will still need to make sure you seal all through holes when you install the hardware, but pre-coating will give an additional bit of protection.

Henry
 
Thanks Henry,

I was thinking about a narrow piece of stainless to protect against scuffing.

As far as the holes go, as soon as I can get outside and kind of "dry-fit" the whole thing, I will be drilling the holes and sealing with a couple coats of epifanes. Still trying to figure out how to cut the large hole for the windlass. I'm not sure a hole saw will do it, based on how long it took to cut the radius at the end with a jig saw.

Stay tuned...
 
Mine uses an anchor roller that fits into a long rectangular hole in the pulpit and mounts with a screw flange around the top. This allows the anchor to actually pass through the pulpit and the roller/mount nearly reaches the windlass so there is nothing exposed and in need of protection. The anchor hangs below the pulpit very nicely. I'm not sure if this design would work with your installation but I like it a lot.

Mine is similar to this one.
 
Randy,

Using a hole saw is going to be a bear

Do you have access to a drill press? I have a hole cutting bit that is for a drill press that is basically a drill bit with a horizontal bar at the top. The bar holds a sharp piece of tool steel vertically. The drill bit goes into the wood first and provide the pivot for the tool steel to spin around. Unlike a hole saw, the tip of the cutter is gouging (same context as in wood turning on a lathe), and as a result works cleaner and faster. The position of the tool allows for a radius of up to 3.25" (7.5 diameter). The down side is that it will only go through about 1.5" thick material. But if you are careful you can do one side then flip and do the other side for material up to 3". I bought mine at the local Rockler store. But I imagine you can find them at any woodworkers supply.

Henry
 
I do have a drill press, and I will stop by my local woodworking places later this week to see if they have what you describe.

We have a BusyBee tools and Lee Valley in town.

Thanks for your help!

R.
 
berth control said:
Oooh yea, about the loading on a trailer issue, I have had my crank come into contact with the platform, but it has never been an issue. Mine clears my enough that it never really hits when I crank the boat up. I have been on a real steep ramp and it was almost an issue, but I just pulled the trailer farther out and cranked the boat up by hand.
Click to expand...

Sounds like an excuse to buy a power winch...and hope it never dies.

Henry Boyd said:
Randy,

The cutter is made by General Tools (generaltools.com). If I did the link right, this should be the one:

http://www.generaltools.com/Products/Heavy-Duty-Circle-Cutter__55.aspx

Henry
Click to expand...

U ever see one for cutting metal?
 
Henry Boyd said:
You can also use Sapele as a substitute.

Eric - How much do you use the Domino cutter? I have looked at them a number of times and can't justify the cost. That being said I do have the circular saw, 1/2" router and Rotex sander.

Henry
Click to expand...

I've got a biscuit cutter at home. Is there a way to convert that to a domino cutter for those types of cuts?
 
WTP07 said:
Thanks Henry,

I was thinking about a narrow piece of stainless to protect against scuffing.

As far as the holes go, as soon as I can get outside and kind of "dry-fit" the whole thing, I will be drilling the holes and sealing with a couple coats of epifanes. Still trying to figure out how to cut the large hole for the windlass. I'm not sure a hole saw will do it, based on how long it took to cut the radius at the end with a jig saw.

Stay tuned...
Click to expand...

A piece of stainless channel would be perfect. Let me know if you can't find one. I have fabricators make me custom stuff all the time.
 
I have used Epiphanes for both of the tables I made for our boat. It is a varnish based product and in an exterior location will react just like varnish. I particularly like it because it can be sprayed, wet sanded and buffed to a high gloss finish without excessive dry time.

Henry- I can't justify a biscuit jointer either, but have found that a router mounted in a router table with an Freud cutter gives you better control for precise work and the only additional cost is the set up time for the router/table/cutter since you probably already have they stuff in your shop. However, if I were going to make a pulpit, I would not use biscuits, but would cut grooves the full length with a table saw/dado blade and make splines to join the pieces just to get a stronger bond between pieces.
 
Jitts,

The manufacturer says the cutter will work with aluminum and brass. The design is a take-off on the types of cutters that are used for boring holes in steel. The big difference is less the cutting head and more the machine powering it. This type of tool in a machine like a Bridgeport will do the trick. In a non commercial drill press, it would probably work a couple of times. After that the shaft bearings would probably be shot.

Frank,

I agree on applicability of 'biscuits' when talking about the ellipse like wafer things. The Festool domino cutter uses a router bit like tool that wiggles back and forth. The 'biscuits' are fairly substantial and the end result is a loose mortise and tenon joint. The router table approach works great until you have to do something that is longer than the distance between the table top and the ceiling!
 
...and done.

Dash mount switch:
IMG_8625.jpg


Circuit breaker in closet:
IMG_8626.jpg


Motor in Anchor Locker
IMG_8627.jpg


Bow pulpit finished and mounted.
IMG_8628.jpg



For the record, 18 coats of epiphanes, sanding between each. Took the better part of 2 months, but the end result is worth it.

Now I just have to splurge for that S/S anchor... *sigh*...it never ends...:smt021
 
Randy,

Good job. That universal chain link between the anchor and chain should be changed out. I use a universal swivel connector that is made for the purpose of connecting anchor to chain. The swivel action keeps the line from getting all knoted over time.

Henry
 
Thanks Henry,

I will look into that when I go pick up my chartplotter chip next week.

Cheers,
 
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